“Dr. Gabriel, please come take a look! This patient has no visible injuries on his body, but he is in shock.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not familiar with that. The head of the brain department should arrive shortly. Take the patient to do a brain CT scan now,” Anna answered.
Anna was a pediatrician, but she had studied clinical medicine in college and had previously volunteered in a war zone. She had more experience than the other interns, so they frequently asked her about issues they couldn’t decide.
As he pushed the patient’s bed, the intern brushed past her. The man on the bed had his eyes tightly shut and mud on his white shirt. Nonetheless, he appeared distinguished.
He suddenly moved his hand and grabbed the hem of Anna’s white robe as he passed by. He did, however, immediately let go of his hand. The man’s movement was so subtle that Anna didn’t pay much attention to it as she was busy dealing with other patients.
The aftermath of the accident was still spreading, and the hospital was overcrowded due to the flu. However, ambulances and private cars continued transporting more patients to the hospital.
Nancy’s white robe was stained with blood, but she didn’t seem to notice it. She frowned and said, “There are too many people here. If they all stay in the hospital, there’s a risk of cross-contamination.”
Anna looked around at the packed crowd and also felt very worried. She asked, “So, what can we do? We can’t even close the doors! Closing the hospital will have far-reaching consequences. Worst-case scenario, the government would send someone to look into it.”
Nancy said firmly, “Relax. Perhaps we can shut the door for a while. I’ll go see the dean right now.”
Half an hour later, the doors to the hospital were closed. The patients were brought in by an ambulance that had just arrived, but their families were prohibited from entering the hospital.
Anna looked around at the crowd of people and reporters at the hospital’s entrance, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. She quickly turned around and walked up the stairs. Her phone rang as she walked toward the elevator.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Miss Gabriel. It’s me.”
“Gabe?” Anna asked, surprised.
Gabe had been transferred to the Carousel Group’s Australian branch three years ago, as far as she knew. Anna needed to get to work immediately, so she asked, “What’s going on? I’m actually very busy right now.”
“Did you happen to see Mr. Wright?” Gabe abruptly cut her off before she could finish.
“He left my house this morning. What’s the problem?”
“He hasn’t returned my calls.”
Anna tensed up as she felt an ominous feeling.
“He called me in the morning and requested a morning meeting. But everyone is here now, except for him. I just heard that there was an accident on the overpass, and it appears that he went that way. I rushed to the scene and saw Mr. Wright’s car, which had a smashed bumper. When I asked the nearby traffic police, they said they had taken him to the hospital. Mrs. Wright was worried about him because the hospital gates were locked and no one could get in. I think there is a good chance that he is now in the hospital where you work. Could you please look for him?” Gabe said those words in an anxious tone, and Anna could hear Jennie talking anxiously next to him.
Trembling all over, Anna was unable to think clearly. As her mind was cluttered, she tried to calm herself down but failed.
No, no, no… This is not happening. No, it can’t be! Wayne, you’d better be okay because if you die, Tammy and Matthew will be devastated! And I have no idea how I’m supposed to live the rest of my life without you! No… God! Wayne, please be okay…
Anna hadn’t been so terrified and scared in the past twenty years. She dashed down the stairs after hanging up the phone. As soon as she walked into the emergency room, she smelled blood. She pulled the partition curtains away from the hospital beds one by one quickly. However, she didn’t see Wayne.
“Did you notice a tall man dressed in a white shirt and suit pants? He’s likely in his thirties.” She asked one of the nurses nervously and anxiously.
“Was the man you asked about wearing a Vacheron Constantin watch on his left hand, Dr. Gabriel?”
Anna, wide-eyed, exclaimed, “Yes! Have you seen him?”
“He was in a coma when he arrived at the hospital an hour ago. When I asked what you should do for him, you told me to put him in the brain department.”
Anna was stunned, and she, too, remembered what had just occurred. As she walked past the emergency room, she vaguely remembered a patient grabbing her shirt. She suddenly panicked as she remembered that familiar feeling. Without even thanking the nurse, she turned and ran toward the operating room.
She thought to herself, Damn it! How could I be so careless?! I walked past you, but I didn’t recognize you! I’ll never be able to forgive myself if something happens to you, Wayne. Wayne, hang in there! You have to! You hope that I I could give you one more chance, and I haven’t thought this through and I haven’t gotten back to you. You can’t just leave me this way!
With tears and cold sweat mixing on her face, Anna dashed toward the operating room. The red light in the brain surgery room was on, and the nurse at the door asked Anna, “Do you want to go in and observe the surgery?”
Anna froze and asked in alarm, “Who’s in there? How long has the surgery been going on?”
The nurse indicated the timer on the wall. “I don’t know who he is, but it’s been 30 minutes since the surgery started. The vice president is operating on him, and it seems that the patient is seriously injured.”
Anna’s heart began to race. “I’ll go in and take a look,” she said, then prepared to enter the operating room.
“Hey! What are you doing, Dr. Gabriel? You’re not dressed in a surgical gown! This is completely unprofessional.” The nurse looked at her in surprise.
It wasn’t until then that Anna realized she had been so frantic that she had forgotten common sense. Then she went to the dressing room right away to sterilize herself and put on the surgical gown. When she entered the operating room, she was still distracted.
Many doctors were gathered in front of the operating table. Anna could not get near the table, and she did not dare to rush in. As a result, she was forced to stand outside the crowd. The surgical gown was heavy and made her sweat all over.
She was so far away from the operating table that she couldn’t tell if the man on it was Wayne or not. But she had a gut feeling that it was him.
“What brings you here?” A nurse next to Anna asked.
“I came to see this surgery,” Anna said absentmindedly.
“This patient is in poor health. To be honest, I believe we will have to apologize to his family later.”
“He’s not doing well?” Anna’s face instantly turned pale. She felt as if all her strength had vanished instantly, and she couldn’t even stand still.
“When he arrived at the emergency room, we had no idea what was wrong with him. We measured his intracranial pressure and discovered that he was in a bad condition. The head of the brain department met to discuss what to do for him, but the truth was that he had little chance of survival. The success rate of craniotomy was low, but it was the only option. So, after informing his relatives, they operated on him.”
“Is it possible for him to survive?”
“Actually, there’s just little hope for us. I heard that the doctors were preparing the death certificate, and they will have to sign it if the operation fails.”
Anna was stunned and devastated. She barely avoided falling down by holding on to the surgical bed beside her. She thought, No! What?! Am I dreaming? No, no, no… If… If I wake up, will Wayne be there for me? Right, I must be dreaming!
The instruments suddenly made a jumbled sound. Then, she looked up and attempted to see through the crowd to the scene inside. Her ears were ringing, and she felt dizzy.
“Oxygen.”
“His heart rate is low.”
“Pacemaker.”
The fluctuating EKG eventually faded to a flat, straight line. The line continued, but his heart stopped. Everyone fell silent, and no one made another sound.
“Death time.”
“Sign the form and deliver it to his family.”
Before collapsing on the floor, Anna felt that her world was falling apart. As if fallen into a deep sleep, she seemed to have had dreamed of a man leaving her.
Two hours later, Anna was finally awake.
“Is everything OK?” Nancy asked her.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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